What is the "mouse" and how do I use it?
A mouse like a keyboard, is a way to make the computer do what you want it to do. There are many different types of Mice. They usually have one to three buttons and sometimes a scroll wheel. We will assume you are using the most common type which has two buttons with a scroll wheel between them.
Moving and Right Clicking
~ Rest your hand on the mouse (It will be set up for right handed use, but can be changed to used by the left hand. To avoid confusion we will learn how to do that later, for now use your right hand. Many lefties do.)
~ Move the mouse around on the mouse pad (this helps a mouse with a roller ball move smoothly). Watch as the cursor moves around the screen. If you are near the edge of the mouse pad, you can pick up the mouse and reposition it back in the center if you need to. If the cursor changes it means that you can click to do something. Usually the cursor changes to a hand if there is a link to click.
~ Move the mouse to the picture on the right side of this page. Click with your index
finger – this is called left clicking. (For you Lefties, now you may realize why we haven’t switched the mouse to the left hand. The terms left clicking and right clicking are the standard terms for clicking the primary and secondary mouse buttons. When the mouse is set up for left-handed use these buttons are switched therefore the terms left and right clicking become confusing to a novice mouse user.) This is the most common command you give with the mouse.
Right Clicking – Right clicking is clicking the secondary button on the mouse with your middle finger. This will bring up a menu related to the software you are using and the task at hand. In Microsoft Word you would get menu choices such as copy, paste, cut, etc.
~ Right Click your mouse here. You get a menu that is a shortcut to commonly used items. i.e. back, reload
Scrolling – There are many ways to scroll the page up and down.
~ Position the mouse over the arrows on the right side and click. This will move the page up or down on line at a time.
~ Position the mouse over the elevator (the blue vertical bar on the right) and click & drag the mouse up or down to move the page.
~ Position the mouse in the white space above or below the elevator and click to move on page at a time.
~ If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can roll it up or down to move the page or click it to get an double headed arrow and move the mouse up or down to move the page. The further you move the mouse the faster the page will scroll.
Double Clicking – you may be instructed to double click on something. This requires clicking twice right in a row. This will give the computer a different command than single clicking. In Microsoft Word a common word processing program, it will open a file whereas single clicking will select the file.
Dragging – you may be instructed as some time to click and drag. This procedure is used to move text to a new area. Hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse at the same time.
For more information about the mouse and it’s history visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mouse
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